There is a need for a portable cooking apparatus for locations where permanent structures are unavailable or when specific needs arise. An example of such a device is an electric grill or griddle. The device is heated when the user connects an onboard electric heating element to an external power source via a port on the griddle and thereby initiates a flow of current to the heating element.
For a variety of reasons, it is useful to elevate the cooking surface of such devices from the surface on which the device rests. One reason to elevate the device is to avoid transfer of heat from the cooking surface to the support surface. Another reason would be to make room for additional components underneath the cooking surface, such as the addition of a drip pan under a grill or griddle. Supports such as legs are thus used to elevate cooking appliances. Retractable or folding legs offer the advantage of easier storage and improved portability, but also present the risk that the cooking surface will be heated when the legs are still folded and the cooking surface is too close to the support surface, making the operation of the device unsafe.
The risk of collapse is also a concern when folding legs are used with cooking surfaces. The use of external power typically requires a cord and possibly also a temperature-control device to be connected to the cooking appliance. Such temperature-control devices, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,218,434, extend from the cooking apparatus and may be easily pulled or bumped during use. When this happens to a cooking apparatus having folding legs, it can cause the cooking appliance to fall or become unbalanced. Any collapse or imbalance in the cooking device when connected to a power source is undesirable because of the high temperatures usually involved in cooking and the likelihood that hot food, oil, or fat in the cooking appliance will be spilled.
Safety mechanisms have been devised that regulate the use of a temperature-control device in connection with a cooking apparatus. For example, mechanisms such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,874, U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,644 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,204, aim to prevent the cooking apparatus from being disassembled in various ways while the temperature-control device is inserted. These mechanisms, however, do not prevent unsafe connection of a temperature-control device with a cooking apparatus having folding legs. Therefore, there is a need for safety features that prevent a cooking appliance with folding legs from being connected to a power source when the legs are folded. There is also a need for safety features that prevent foldable legs collapsing when used with a temperature-control device.